April 10, 2008

University Park, Pa. - The top-ranked Penn State men's volleyball team (24-1) heads to the Midwest to close out the regular season, taking on Loyola-Chicago and IPFW this weekend. The Nittany Lions and Ramblers square off on Friday, April 11 at 7:00 p.m. CT before the Lions face the Mastodons on Saturday, April 12 at 8:00 p.m. ET.

Gametracker or live stats will be available for both matches via a link at www.GoPSUsports.com and both matches will feature free online video coverage, also with links at www.GoPSUsports.com.

Penn State received all 16 first-place votes and 240 total points in Monday's Division I/II Top 15 Coaches Poll. BYU moved up one spot to second with 212 total points while Cal State Northridge fell to third with 206 total points. Long Beach State earned 200 total points for fourth in the poll while Pepperdine remained at fifth with 164 total points.

Previewing Penn State
The Nittany Lions enter the weekend with an overall record of 24-1 after defeating Ohio State in four games (30-23, 27-30, 30-20, 30-19) and sweeping Ball State (30-26, 30-22, 30-17) on March 28-29 at Rec Hall. Junior outside hitter Matt Anderson (West Seneca, N.Y.) leads the squad and ranks second in the country with 5.64 kills per game while junior opposite Ryan Sweitzer (Lancaster, Pa.) chips in 3.40 kills per game and junior middle hitter Max Holt (Cincinnati, Ohio) adds 3.17 kills per game on a nation-best .564 hitting percentage. Senior setter Luke Murray (East Petersburg, Pa.) directs the offense with 13.45 assists per game and freshman libero Dennis Del Valle (Toa Alta, Puerto Rico) tops the defense with 2.50 digs per game as junior outside hitter Jay Stauffer (Columbia, Pa.) averages 1.57 digs per game. Holt and sophomore middle hitter Max Lipsitz (Williamsville, N.Y.) lead the blocking list with 1.25 and 1.12 blocks per game, respectively. As a team, Penn State is hitting a country-leading .403 hitting percentage with 16.13 kills per game, 1.73 service aces per game, 8.61 digs per game and 2.95 blocks per game.

Next Up
The Nittany Lions earned a bye in the EIVA Quarterfinals and will host the EIVA Semifinals and Championship on Thursday and Saturday, April 24 and 26 at Rec Hall. The semifinals will be at 4:30 and 7:30 p.m. on Thursday with the NCAA Semifinal berth decided on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. in the EIVA Championship match. The winner of the EIVA Championship earns an automatic berth into the NCAA National Semifinals, to be held at UC Irvine on Thursday, May 1. The National Championship match is slated for Saturday, May 3.

For more information on the Penn State men's volleyball team, please visit www.GoPSUsports.com.

04/26/08 - Highlights vs. George Mason
04/24/08 - Highlights vs. NYU
03/29/08 - Highlights vs. Ball State
03/28/08 - Highlights vs. Ohio State
03/01/08 - Highlights vs. NJIT
02/29/08 - Highlights vs. East Stroudsburg